From cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Wed Mar 31 14:47:54 1999 Return-Path: Received: from sun28.aic.nrl.navy.mil (sun28.aic.nrl.navy.mil [132.250.84.38]) by mc.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1a/8.9.1-mod) with SMTP id OAA29488 for ; Wed, 31 Mar 1999 14:47:54 -0500 (EST) Precedence: bulk Errors-To: cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Message-Id: <4.1.19990331093309.0265e700@pop.ncsa.uiuc.edu> Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 09:48:07 -0600 To: cube-lovers@ai.mit.edu From: Tom Magliery Subject: Re: Keyboard cube [was: Re: Wrist pains] In-Reply-To: <199903302344.SAA11205@life.ai.mit.edu> References: <000001be7a68$23427d20$040a0a0a@laptop> i already sent this to noel directly, but since others are sending suggestions here i thought i'd toss in my thoughts about a keyboard cube interface... mag At 11:42 PM 3/29/99 -0500, Noel Dillabough unabashedly said: >There is a macro interface for the cubes to enter moves in UDFBLR notation, >but I am thinking of something that you could, with practice, manipulate a >cube in realtime using a keyboard. this is a wonderful user interface design challenge. i've thought about it before, because i have never been comfortable with any of the mouse-based interfaces for moving 3d objects around. i've never used one that seemed fully intuitive to me. i'd love to see an interface like this: * 5 faces of the cube visible at once (all except B), perhaps something like this (except square, and with the individual cubies showing of course): +------------------+ |\ /| | \ U / | | \ / | | +----------+ | | | | | | L | F | R | | | | | | | | | | +----------+ | | / \ | | / D \ | |/ \| +------------------+ * unshifted keys for turning each of the visible faces either CW or CCW, a total of 10 keys in all, and repeated on the left- and right-hand side of the keyboard. the following diagram shows the cube operations thus associated with various keys (though the diagram is laid out mostly like the keyboard, i've added space between the hands for clarity): w:L' e:U' r:U t:R y:L' u:U' i:U o:R s:F' f:F j:F' l:F x:L c:D' v:D b:R' n:L m:D' ,:D .:R' * shifted keys for turning the cube itself. again, available on both hands. 3 axes of rotation, two directions each ==> only 6 keys needed on each hand. but why not have even more duplication? for example, suppose (in real life) you want to roll the cube forward away from you. you might do it by either grabbing it from the R side or the L side. hence the same 10 keys as above, when shifted, work to turn the entire cube in the same direction as they turn the faces when unshifted. -- ///X Tom Magliery, Research Programmer 217-333-3198 .---o \\\ NCSA, 605 E. Springfield O- mag@ncsa.uiuc.edu `-O-. /// Champaign, IL 61820 http://sdg.ncsa.uiuc.edu/~mag/ o---'